The Europeans have an impressive new web site for the IWRF European Zone. You can input tournament information for your own events after you've registered an account on the site.

I've been updating the look and structure of this journal over the past few days. Please be patient while I do a little experimentation with the site.  Thanks!

~Don~

The UK's best source for rugby gossip and news is back on line after a brief reprieve from life on the web.  Check out the Strike Zone, which features Aussie updates from regular Rugby Road Journal reader Brett Boylan, who is a veteran member of the Australian National Team.

While updating our web site, I came across another photo gallery from the Vancouver Invitational on the web site of the Portland Pounders. The Portland gallery showcases the Pounders players all day long, and doesn't have a lot of action shots on the first few pages, so if you want some good pics from the tournament itself, I'd recommend going to the Vancouver Invitational Tournament Gallery which was setup by professional photographer, Kevin Bogetti-Smith.

Kevin was also at the North American Cup along with the National Team.  I'm eagerly awaiting his new action shots as well as the head shots which will replace the old ones we currently have in our Athlete Gallery as well as in the athlete profiles.

Given the fact that we were able to hang with the American's top guns for three quarters without our MVP, it's incredibly encouraging to see how well the depth of the team has improved over the past few years.  Commenting on the final game, Saskatchewan's Al Semeniuk noted that "It was an intense game with lots of action.  We had a few minor mistakes but overall an outstanding team effort!  Great job guys!"

Al earned a great turnover late in the 3rd quarter of the Saturday game when we were down by 2-3 goals, and that sparked a surge that capped off with both teams tied at the end of that quarter.

In other news, it's been three days since the US announced their final-16 members of their National Team Program to the public in Birmingham, so I think I've waited long enough to post it over here on the Rugby Road Journal.  Their Paralympic Team will comprise of 12 members from this 16-member group of elite athletes.  Congrats to all who made the cut.

0.5 - Eddie Crouch (Lakeshore), Rob Krows (Texas Stampede)
1.0 - Norm Lyduch (Texas Stampede), Scott Hogsett (Phoenix)
2.0 - Cliff Chunn, Bryan Kirkland, & Bob Lujano (Lakeshore), Andy Cohn (Phoenix), Sam Gloor (San Diego Bushwhackers), Dave Jenkins (Sarasota), and Brent Poppen (Quake)
2.5 - Will "Easy for Canadians to spell" Groulx (Portland), Dean Maccabe
3.0 - Lynn Nelson (Portland), Wayne Romero (Lakeshore), Mark Zupan (Texas Stampede)

For those interested in stats, the breakdown by region looks like this:

Atlantic South: Sarasota Hoveround Lightning (1)
Heartland South: Lakeshore Demolition (5)
Mountain: Texas Stampede (3), APVA Phoenix Heat (2)
Pacific North: California Quake (1), Portland Pounders (2)
Pacific South: San Diego Bushwhackers (1)
Did not play in the USQRA last season: (1, Dean Maccabe)

Gossip Tip: Look for the Kentucky TNT to be stronger next season... much stronger.

~That is all~

The Canadian Men's Wheelchair Basketball Team started the day off on a good note, defeating their US rivals by a score of 67-52, and earning a point for Team Canada.  That victory ensured that the three Canadian programs would get some money out of the North America Cup.  One victory means a minimum of $2500 USD, although that would be split three ways.

The Canadian women's team followed up with a victory of their own against the US Women's Basketball Team, with a somewhat narrower 49-40 margin of victory.  Next on the court... the world champion Canadian Wheelchair Rugby Team, which was G-less.

Prior to the game, being the warrior he is, G tried to warm up, but the pain to his left hand was too much, and he wasn't able to grip the ball.  Garett wasn't sure exactly how the injury occured, but it was a freak accident, and nothing deliberate.  There was an impact that occured while he was coming down hard with his hand, then something jammed and pulled, and he knew right away that something major had just happened.  It doesn't appear to be a long-term injury, but for today's game, that was it, and G watched an important game he would rather have played in.

The Canadians faced their continental rivals without the only man who has ever been awarded the MVP at a world championships, and played hard.  After the first quarter, the score was – you guessed it – tied.  Aside from that familiar scenario, the first quarter was also noted for three Canadian timeouts, which hurt us later in the game.

Second quarter - tied.

Third quarter - tied still.

Fourth and final quarter - [insert turnover here] - Oops!  ... and without the luxury of available timeouts, the Americans took the game by four, winning 29-25.  That victory for the stars and stripes squad ensured that the home team retained some greenbucks for themselves, with $2500 USD going to the three US teams, and $7500 going to the three teams from the land where air conditioning is still optional.  Our share of that money will go to defray costs of the next major trip - to the World Wheelchair Games in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Among the eight Canadians who played in this final game were:

0.5 - Daniel Paradis
1.0 - Mike Bacon
1.5 - Patrice Simard
2.0 - Al Semeniuk
2.0 - David Willsie
3.0 - Ian Chan
3.0 - Fabien Lavoie
3.0 - Mike Whitehead

The US National Team has now been posted in Birmingham, so I can now feel justified at revealing a bit about it.

They chose 16 players, including SEVEN 2.0's.  The breakdown of the total classifications is as follows.

0.5 - 2
1.0 - 2 ?
2.0 - 7
2.5 - 2
3.0 - 3 (including Mark Zupan from Texas and Lynn Nelson from Portland)

More players to be announced later. ;-)

Finally some news!

Our staff have been dealing with some medical issues, as Garett has been hurt.  Originally, they thought his thumb may have been broken – it's not, but it's badly sprained, possibly with some ligament damage.  He's in a splint and not likely to play in today's game.  At least it's not the Paralympics!  The injury occurred with about two minutes left in the last game.  Sound familiar?

Anyway, we won the last of the scrimmage games by a score of 37-34.  It was a good game and the rookies played well.

Other than G, all is good, with no other injuries or medical problems popping up on this trip.

The U.S. have selected their 16 Paralympic hopefuls. It wouldn't be cool to announce it quite yet, so I'll let them do it on their own web site, and through their local media.

I await the elusive phone call, and when it rings, it'll be echoed in here. Ciao for now!

~D~

Scrimmage game #3 has just wrapped up and saw The Stones, featuring Kirkland, Gilliland, and Cohn, grind past Canada-2 by a score of 25-23.  The young Canadian team made a few mistakes, which the Americans were able to capitalize on.  Again, our coaches used all of the players, giving the freshest ones lots of court time.  The Canadian team featured the following players:

0.5 - Martin Mainguy (Quebec City, QC)
0.5 - Daniel Paradis (Quebec City, QC)
1.5 - Patrice Simard (Quebec City, QC)
2.0 - Allan Chartrand (Edmonton, AB)
2.5 - Say Luangkhamdeng (Surrey, BC)
3.0 - Fabien Lavoie (Quebec City, QC)
3.0 - Ian Chan (Richmond, BC)
3.0 - Mike Whitehead (London, ON)

Both American teams feature a baker's dozen of players, or lucky-13 if you're not in to old-fashioned expressions.  Did I mention that I'm getting old?

The other Canadian team, which I'm calling Canada-1 has the rest of the players on it, although the nickels are playing on both teams.  It consists of:

0.5 - Martin Mainguy (Quebec City, QC)
0.5 - Daniel Paradis (Quebec City, QC)
1.0 - Mike Bacon (Saskatoon, SK)
2.0 - David Willsie (London, ON)
2.0 - Allan Semeniuk (Saskatoon, ON)
2.0 - Sue McRae (London, ON)
2.0 - Trevor Robinson (Winnipeg, MB)
3.0 - Steven Dunn (Halifax, NS)
3.5 - Garett Hickling (Kelowna, BC)

Each of the scrimmage games to date have been close, and with the top two programs in the world going at it, games will never be easy.  The fact that both countries are keeping it tight shows progress on both sides of the world's longest unprotected border.  Kudos to the athletes and coaches!

I've heard that the US will be making some difficult decisions later today on who makes it to the top-16 in their program.  Some players will be easy to decide upon, either making the team with ease or by being easy cuts.  However, those final few to make it to their team or their depth players from #13-#16, will have to show it all today, or perhaps tomorrow in case the US selection committee still needs to see them one final time.  It's not an easy job for either side of the picture.

The results of the first two scrimmage games at the North American Cup are IN!

The rosters of the two Canadian teams were a bit mixed up from the cast of usual suspects, with both our 0.5 players getting court time on each team.  There were a few other roster swaps, so you couldn't really call either team the 'Nordiques' or the 'Ice'.

Similarly, things were hard to see on the American side, with all 26 candidates still in the running for selection to the final US team of 16 players.  The US made a good rotation of their players in each of the two scrimmage games, giving their guys a chance to strut their stuff.  The Red 'n White Canadians leaned heavily on their rookies and newer players, for greater exposure to the large pool of US athletes. New national team players Allan Chartrand and Sue McRae played well in their début, while national squad member Trevor Robinson showed some good stuff in the second half of his game after throwing off some early jitters. Ian Chan also had a strong game.

For lack of a name for the American teams, I'll just call the first US team Chunn's Gunns and the second US team Kirkland 'n Cohn's Stones.  Why?  No particular reason other than I know that Cliffy, Bryan, and Andy were on those teams.  The Gunns came out on top of Canada-1 by a 2-point margin, 31-29, while the Stones edged Can-2 by a pebble, 24-23.

The rain is coming down hard in Birmingham, and as the rain pounded down on the venue's metal roof, the sound was amplified so that it sounded like thunder.  I always thought that thunder should be shown on the court, and not heard on the roof, but I'm sure we'll hear far more 'natural' thunder in the big game on Saturday.

The next two games today have Canada-1 rolling against The Stones, while The Gunns take a shot at Canada-2.

~That is all~

If you are a regular reader of the Rugby Road Journal, and would like to be informed by e-mail when updates have been made, please send me an e-mail, and I'll send out a BCC (blind carbon copy) message to all of you when updates have been made to the Journal.

I can be reached at the office at dlane@cwsa.ca or at home at don.lane@rogers.com. If you are one of the regular readers from outside the country (and I know you're out there in AUS, NZL, AUT, GBR, USA, etc...) you'll just have to check back periodically on your own! ;-)

In the meantime, I'll set that up for all athletes in the National Team Program who are not at this event, along with people who have recently talked to me about the Road Journal (Arin S., Dan J., and Martin L.).

Have a nice day, eh! :D

If you're wanting to get in touch with members of the team at the new hotel, you can reach them at (205) 968-3775. The other number listed in a handout you may have received doesn't work.

The team changed hotels last night, moving into much nicer digs at the Mariott in Birmingham, Alabama.  They had been at the Holiday Inn for the previous few days, and were glad to move on since the air conditioning units weren't always working very well.  It's brutally hot down there at this time of year, and although many Canadians dismiss the concept of having a/c, it's a necessity in that sort of climate.  After a bit of room juggling to get the low pointers into the more accessible rooms at the new hotel, things quieted down after a second day of team practices.

The practices were sporadically scheduled, but the organizers had to accomodate a wide number of teams who were looking for training times, including some basketball teams from Down Under. Speaking of basketball, the Canadian women's team just came in last night, as their training schedule has them staying long after the rugby groups have left the facility.

There is a one-hour time difference between Birmingham and Ottawa. It's now about 11:00 am here in the Capital, and the game between Les Nordiques and the top US team is now underway. That game will be immediately followed by Canada Ice taking on the US second squad. I expect to get an update from the team after that second game, so look for another posting to come about 2:00-2:30 Ottawa time.

~That is all~

If you're looking for news from the flights or the practices today, you'll have to wait, since I've heard no reports. As a result of the lack of sound emanating from my phone, I've got a certain Blondie song running through my head, and if you can guess it, you win my, well, my sympathy, since it wasn't the best song of 1983. Man, I'm getting old.

The team is now on its way to Birmingham, Alabama, to compete in the North American Cup, which is a part of the "The Americas Series." This event, as arranged by US Paralympics, pits national teams from both sides of the border up against each other in a world-class setting in two sports: wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball. The winner of each game gets 1 point for their country, and whichever country escapes with two points unders its collective belt, will win $10,000. American!

We have team practices scheduled for Wednesday, June 11th from 11:30–2:30 and again from 6:00–7:30, and on Thursday, from 2:00–5:00. Our first practice game against one of the US teams will be held on Friday, with the Nordiques running into US#1 @ 9am and Canada Ice taking on US#2 at 11:00. The Canadian and US teams then swap opponents, seeing the #1 team of one country lined up against that country's #2 team. Those games are scheduled to start at 1:00 and 3:00. These games will be used, among other activities, to help select the US National Team.

The key day to watch out for is Saturday, June 14th, where the schedule of games looks like this:

Men’s Wheelchair Basketball  –  12:00 noon
Women’s Wheelchair Basketball –  2:30 p.m.
Wheelchair Rugby  –  5:00 p.m

The Canadian Rugby Team, and the Canadian Women's Basketball Team are the defending world champions. The Canadian Men's Basketball team are fresh off a victory at the Roosevelt Invitational (June 3-8, 2003), which was an international tournament with teams from Canada, Great Britain, Mexico, Australia, Germany and the USA.

The 2003 Canadian National Wheelchair Rugby Team was selected at a selection camp which was held after the National Championships. The latest edition of our National Team consists of:

0.5 - Daniel Paradis (Quebec Impact) *
0.5 - Jared Funk (Manitoba)
1.0 - Mike Bacon (Sasksquash) *
1.5 - Patrice Simard (Quebec Impact) *
2.0 - David Willsie (Ontario Thunder) *
2.0 - Al Semeniuk (Sasksquash) *
2.0 - Allan Chartrand (Alberta Steel Wheels) *
2.0 - Sue McRae (Ontario Thunder) *
3.0 - Mike Whitehead (Ontario Thunder) *
3.0 - Ian Chan (BC Bandits) *
3.0 - Fabien Lavoie (Quebec Impact) *
3.5 - Garett Hickling (BC Bandits) *

Selected to the National Squad were:

0.5 - Martin Mainguy (Quebec Impact) *
1.0 - Kirby Kranabetter (Ottawa Stingers)
1.5 - Dave Gagne (Quebec Impact)
2.0 - Trevor Robinson (Manitoba) *
2.0 - Daryl Stubel (Sasksquash)
2.5 - Say Luangkhamdeng (BC Bandits) *
3.0 - Steven Dunn (Quebec Impact) *

Those listed with a * will be in attendance at The North American Cup. Jared Funk would have been there, but he is a brand new daddy. A photo of Mackenzie Lea Funk is available on the front page of the CWSA web site.

Sue's selection to the National Team makes her the only woman on a top-10 internationally ranked team, and the first woman on the Canadian National Team since Judy Zelman in 1996.

Some future stars were seen at the selection camp. Keep up the good work ethic, and we'll see you next year!